Thomas's Extra Special Friend and Other Stories
by Eowyn Tolkien
Summary: Peep! Peep! Meet Allison, Thomas's new special friend, gasp with awe at Sodorsquirt, the Island of Sodor's first superhero, watch as Sir Handel slips off the track, and even cheer on Thomas and Percy as they come to the rescue! This is the first volume.
1. Thomas's Extra Special Friend

THOMAS'S EXTRA SPECIAL FRIEND AND OTHER THOMAS STORIES

**Thomas's Extra Special Friend**

It was a busy day. The Island of Sodor was bustling with activity as the engines in Sir Topham Hatt's railyard were put to work shunting, delivering passengers and hauling freight. They didn't know why, but they had a strong feeling that today was special. None of them had ever had a great chance such as this to feel Really Useful in one day's time. Sure enough, Sir Topham Hatt unexpectedly called all of them off work early, a very rare order on his part. He met them in the railyard roundhouse where he could speak to all of them at once.

"I have very important news," he announced. "A guest is visiting the island today on holiday, and I'd like all of you to help show her around. She is new, so I expect patience. Treat her nicely, welcome her—there is a great chance she will not know where anything is."

He had to have been alerted by the stationmaster.

All the same, the engines were excited. Perhaps Sir Topham Hatt had found another Really Useful Engine to help out in the railyard. Those pushy freight cars could use a bit of disciplining, and it was said they behaved slightly better when they were being handled by a female.

"Oh, sir, yes, sir, we will, sir," the engines promised joyfully.

They could barely contain themselves.

Later that day, the roads were cleared to make room for Bertie the Bus. He blared his horn.

"Guest on the grounds, guest on the grounds," he bleeped importantly.

The engines chattered excitedly. The new Really Useful Engine was about to show her glorious coat of shiny new paint. What color would she be?

"I sure hope she isn't red," pointed out James huffily. "She can't top off my shiny coat."

He never showed it, but he was just as excited as the others.

As Bertie reached the yard, bleeping his "guest on the grounds" routine, the engines heard the loveliest sound.

"What is that?" whispered Percy to Thomas.

"I could be wrong, but it sounds like singing," answered Thomas observantly.

A young woman was sitting on Bertie's roof, wearing an engineer's hat and a light sundress. She held a violin in her hands and the sweetest melody was coming out of her open mouth. She would switch from the singing to the instrument in her hands, and when she played, her bow danced merrily across the strings, light and quick, in the traditional fiddle tunes of northern Ireland. No one on the Island of Sodor had ever seen or heard such a spectacle, and they were more awed than they had ever been in their lives.

The pretty redhead stepped off gracefully as Bertie rolled to a complete stop, the parade and song ending at the final destination.

"Hello," she said warmly as Bertie's driver helped her with her luggage. "You must be Sir Topham Hatt, and you all must be his reliable and Really Useful Engines. I have heard so many wonderful things about you, so I decided to come here and see it all for myself."

So _she _had been the guest Sir Topham Hatt had mentioned, and she was not an engine at all. She was a human girl who enjoyed music, singing and playing Irish fiddle. Thomas was deeply impressed and inspired. Here was someone he could closely relate to, and she didn't even need steam or buffers to run.

"It is indeed my pleasure, miss," Sir Topham Hatt answered, eagerly shaking her hand. "My engines and I all wish to welcome you with open arms to the Island of Sodor."

"I am glad I could pick it as my ultimate holiday getaway," the young redhead replied. "And I deeply thank your engines as well. I hear they very well live up to their reputations."

She flickered her eyes over to Thomas and Percy as she spoke and grinned widely. Thomas and Percy were in awe. The Irish fiddler-singer-dancer had actually looked at them and grinned. They grew lost for words and could only manage two happy "peep-peeps" from their whistles in return.

"She's pretty," whispered Percy to Thomas.

"You have no idea," Thomas agreed back. "If I could do it, I'd ask her to teach me how to fiddle."

"You could sing," Percy said plainly. "Your voice isn't that bad."

"No," agreed Thomas, "but after listening to her, I'd say my voice sounds like a busted boiler."

Percy laughed.

Sir Topham Hatt once again addressed the engines.

"Remember what I said," he reminded them pointedly. "I want you all to be nice to our guest. Show her around the island. She's never been here before."

"Oh, sir, yes, sir," the engines chorused eagerly. "We will, sir!"

"Perhaps I ought to have some time to unpack first," the redhead stated kindly.

"Of course," Sir Topham Hatt said. "Take all the time you need. I'll be at the station if you have any questions."

Evening came, and Thomas decided to go for a spin. He really wanted to talk to the redhead, and he felt he needed to be alone for it to have any effect. Surprisingly, he caught her relaxing under a thick tree in Henry's favorite forest. She was reading a book and had sunglasses on.

"Hello!" he called cheerily, slightly letting his excitement get the better of him.

The redhead looked up from her book and lowered her shades, waving merrily.

"Hello to you," she answered in a gentle voice. "I'm just relaxing. It's a nice day out."

"Yes," agreed Thomas. "It is indeed. I'm Thomas. What's your name?"

"I'm Allison," the redhead stated. "Nice to meet you, Thomas."

"Oh, no, it is a much greater pleasure to meet you," Thomas insisted cheerfully. "I thought I'd be one of the first engines to show you around the island. Sir Topham Hatt did ask us, after all."

"Of course," replied Allison. "I do remember him stating it. Well, I thought I'd take it slow for a while, since it's been a long journey, and the forest was a perfect place to start. Your bus friend is very hospitable."

"That's Bertie," Thomas told her. "He's always hostible."

"Hospitable," Allison corrected, but she was giggling girlishly. Thomas had quite a way of saying long words.

"Yes," Thomas answered agreeably. "Hostinoble." He laughed with her.

"However long you wish to stay here, Allison, I am willing to wait for you," he added. "Like Henry and yourself, I, too, find this forest to be very peaceful."

Allison thought Thomas's offer to be very generous indeed, while at the exact same moment, Thomas's fire was heating up quickly with joy; he had finally found the beautiful guest's name, and soon, he felt deep in his boiler, she would become an extra special friend.


	2. Thomas and Percy to the Rescue

**Thomas and Percy to the Rescue**

Early one morning, Thomas the Tank Engine awakened before any of the other engines in the railyard. He normally didn't under any ordinary circumstances, but lately, he had a lot on his mind.

"Oh, creak my wheels and coupling rods," he sighed gravely as he opened his eyes.

Steam hissed from his boiler and his coupler squeaked in the process of awakening all the way. He'd had pleasant dreams last night, most of them about Allison, the sweet-voiced Irish redhead who'd arrived on the island several weeks ago and was already his best friend. The day would soon come where he and she would be fully alone together, her riding in his cab as he drove her all over the island, showing her the different landmarks and peeping his whistle all the way to show his joy in being in her company.

The day was just beginning at the moment, and his hopes grew high at the thought that such an event could happen today. He thought about her singing, her fiddling, and most of all, he thought about her, how the way she had been so patient and nice to him when they first crossed tracks.

However, his eager thoughts soon took a turn for the worst. The other engines in the shed didn't take long to catch on.

"Hey, look," teased James brightly. "Little Thomas is musing over his human."

His words turned into a catchphrase.

"Thomas has a girlfriend, Thomas has a girlfriend!"

Thomas was cross.

"She's not my girlfriend!" he muttered furiously, letting off a burst of steam in anger. "She is merely a friend!"

He did not like being the laughingstock to the bigger engines' jokes.

He felt his face flush bright red. "Just because I was the first engine to welcome her, it doesn't make her any more than that! Besides, she has no couplers and doesn't run on rails! How can she be anything but?"

The other engines merely taunted him more.

"Well, little Number One," chortled Gordon brightly. He loved teasing Thomas. "Looks like our very special human visitor will have a very good reason for extending her holiday."

Only Percy felt sympathy for him.

"Don't worry, Thomas," he assured him gently. "Gordon and the others are just being silly old engines. They only want to feel important because they're bigger than we are. I think Allison's just grand. It's no problem if you have secret, hidden feelings for her. She is very pretty."

Thomas let out an angry puff from his whistle in response.

"But I don't!" he snapped crossly. "I think of her as a friend. A special friend. Whoever heard of an engine having feelings for a human?"

But as he said it, he began to doubt himself. Percy was right; Allison was pretty and amazingly talented, and he began to realize that there could possibly be something more than just friendship. He realized right then and there that he hadn't even bothered to ask Allison how long she was staying on the island.

The bigger engines were still snickering and taunting Thomas about his human crush when Sir Topham Hatt arrived.

"Henry and James," he said importantly, "I need you to haul freight today. Gordon, begin preparing for the passengers; we have a busy schedule, and you know the guests don't like their trains to be late."

"Oh, yes, sir," the big engines answered eagerly. "We can't be late; no, sirree." They set to work right away.

This was Thomas's chance to escape.

"Percy's right," he muttered to himself. "The bigger engines are just being silly. Silly old engines! They're just trying to remind me that they're important! Well! I can be just as big and important!"

He coupled up to his two coaches, Annie and Clarabel, and huffily pulled out of the shed, tweeting his whistle in warning that an angry tank engine was coming and was not in the mood for games. He rolled right through a signal without bothering to look at it, and before long, he found himself squeaking and sliding to a stop in front of a traffic crossing, steam billowing up around him.

"Bust my buffer," he muttered in fury, and set off another puff of steam. "Just what I need."

Now he would never get his time alone with Allison; the gates were down and cars were moving back and forth.

"Hurry up, hurry up," he chided impatiently. "I haven't got all day."

It seemed like hours later when the gate finally opened, and Thomas sped through in a huff, grumbling about delays all the way.

"Slow signals, slow signals, slow signals," he was saying.

Back at the railyard, Percy was filled with hope and encouragement for Thomas. He wanted him to spend time with Allison, and he even wanted him to tell her how he felt. Unfortunately, he had also begun to develop a special interest in her, and he wasn't about to compete with Thomas for her attention. Allison had assured all of them earlier on that she had no intention of leaving anytime soon, but for Percy, time was going by too fast. She was bound to leave unexpectedly on emergency, and then what? How soon would she return?

Percy grew restless, and could barely focus on shunting the freight cars next to him, something he normally loved to do.

Afternoon tea time was upon them by the time Sir Topham Hatt found him. He looked even more restless than Percy did.

"What's wrong, sir?" Percy inquired fearfully. He was expecting the worst.

"It's Allison," Sir Topham Hatt answered truthfully. "She went on a hike and should have been back by now. Thomas is gone, too."

Percy was worried. This was Thomas's chance to be with his friend and now they were missing.

"Well," Percy stated in an encouraging tone, trying to raise spirits, "maybe Allison and Thomas crossed tracks in Henry's forest and already went back to the station, sir. Allison has had quite the liking for the woods since she got here."

His heart swelled with hope at these words; perhaps all was not entirely lost after all. But Sir Topham Hatt did not look hopeful. He was growing worse.

"Sir?" Percy inquired questioningly.

At long last, Sir Topham Hatt spoke.

"Percy," he stated plainly, "I'd like you to go out and see if you can find Allison. If she is with Thomas, that will be even better for all of us."

"Oh, right away, sir," Percy promised eagerly, and set off a blast of steam.

He arrived at Henry's forest, but there was no sign of Thomas or Allison. He did, however, notice that a large tree had fallen across the trail that hikers usually take, and he would have passed right by in order to keep looking if it had not been for the movement in the bushes. A familiar face poked up momentarily, but it was enough for Percy.

"Bust my buffers!" he gasped in horror. "It's Allison! Hold on, Allison! I'll help you!"

"Percy!" Allison called out.

"What's wrong?" Percy called back.

"I tripped," Allison informed. "I think I sprained my ankle. Can you let Sir Topham Hatt know where I am?"

"I'm not leaving you here," Percy stated firmly. "Sir Topham Hatt sent me out to find you. I hoped against hope that you'd be with Thomas, but I see I was wrong."

He knew right then that there was only one thing to do. Allison was in trouble and needed all the assistance the engines could offer. He took a big puff and blew his whistle as loud as he could. It was enough to be heard for miles. Allison had to cover her ears.

Thomas had been strolling back in his angry huff when he heard Percy's whistle.

"Something's wrong," he realized, forgetting all about being angry. "I'd better go see."

He followed the sound of the whistle all the way to the forest.

_Wheeeesshhh! Wheeeeeeeessshhhh! _Percy was blowing with all the steam he had left.

"Allison has been hurt," he informed. "We must get Harold the Helicopter to carry her to the hospital."

"Cinders and ashes!" gasped Thomas. "I must try to pull the tree off of her right away!"

The news soon reached Sir Topham Hatt, and he arrived at Henry's forest inside Harold, along with a few medics. They helped Allison into Harold and soared back into the sky. Thomas and Percy were so determined that they followed Harold's path from the railroad tracks below, and they could be heard puffing, "I hope she's all right, I hope she's all right, I hope she's all right" all the way past Gordon's hill and on towards the station.


	3. Allison's Really Useful Concert

**Allison's Really Useful Concert**

Sunlight shone brightly on the Island of Sodor. Birds were singing, and soon, daily activity on the railways would begin. Sir Topham Hatt's Really Useful Engines all slept next to each other in the roundhouse each and every night, and they would often tell one another stories about their day.

As he got ready to pull his standard load of freight, Henry noticed something different. The slot in the shed where Thomas usually slept was empty.

That's odd, he thought to himself. Thomas never leaves in the middle of the night for any reason. Sir Topham Hatt does not allow it.

He decided to ask his driver. Perhaps he would be of some help.

"Where's Thomas?" he inquired as he was coupled up to his freight cars.

His driver appeared puzzled. "You haven't figured it out? Thomas took an early-morning excursion down to Sodor Medical. He's paying a visit to his new friend Allison."

Days before, Allison had fallen while hiking and had injured her ankle. If Thomas and Percy had not whistled in warning and came to the rescue, Harold the Helicopter would not have found her.

Henry looked relieved. He did not enjoy things as much when Thomas was away.

"Thomas is very attached to Allison," he explained to his driver. "James, Gordon and myself often tease him about it, but it's important for him to have a best friend on this island."

His driver got in and started up the fire, and soon they were off.

Sir Topham Hatt arrived shortly after breakfast.

"I hear Allison is awake," he stated to Percy and Edward. "I will go visit her later on, and since Thomas left early this morning to get his chance, Percy, you will have to take Annie and Clarabel today."

"Yes, sir," Percy moaned sadly.

He really did not want to be doing Thomas's work as well as his own, but his sadness dwelled more on not being able to go much further than the first station. He wanted his own chance to visit Allison, too, for he thought that the last rescue was the bravest and most useful thing he had done for her. Sir Topham Hatt knew the signs well.

"Cheer up, Percy," he laughed. "Maybe if you get done with your work early, you can drive me up to Sodor Medical and we can visit Allison together."

Percy's face brightened. "Oh, thank you, sir," he replied happily. "I will work extremely hard!"

It was the greatest news he could ever hear.

Over at Sodor Medical, Allison was sitting up in her hospital bed, wide awake and wearing a bandage around her ankle. The sunlight shone right through her open window and gave her pleasant thoughts.

The nurse came in with a tray of food. "Good news, Allison," she told her. "it's only a mild sprain. We have arranged for Harold to fly you back to the station this afternoon. You're going home."

"Thank you," Allison said brightly.

A loud "peep-peep" from a familiar steam whistle sounded out the window.

"Someone's here to see you," the nurse observed informatively.

Allison slowly got off the bed and limped to the window. The shiny blue coat with the number one painted on the side told her that Thomas the Tank Engine was at the stop. He had travelled all the way from the railyard roundhouse just to check up on her.

"It's Thomas!" she informed eagerly. She waved from the window. "Hello, Thomas! Oh, I simply cannot wait to get back to the railyard and sing and play my violin again! I sure missed that!"

Thomas peeped a bit too loudly in his immense joy and relief at seeing his friend awake and looking happy.

"How are you feeling, Allison?" he asked eagerly, his boiler full to bursting with all the questions he was longing to ask her. "I left at the crack of dawn this morning in my haste to get here and see you. I couldn't bear the thought of you lying in that bed all night alone while I had the comfort of the other engines around me. I felt I needed to protect you."

Allison laughed. "I'm glad you came, Thomas," she stated. "Even though I was well under incredible supervision. Now I have to break the news to Percy. Was he inquiring about me?"

"All night," Thomas informed. "Neither of us could sleep. Percy will probably be by here later on. It's never easy for him to focus on small tasks when a friend of his is out somewhere alone."

"He won't have to now," said Allison. "The nurse just said Harold is coming back this afternoon to get me. I'm returning to the station and to all of you. I can't wait to see you guys again."

Thomas wheeshed excitedly when he heard those words.

"That's great!" he cried out. "The rest of us can't wait for you to return! We missed you terribly. If possible, perhaps I can save Harold a trip and take you back myself. I'm already here."

"I'd love that just as much as flying back in that whirlybird Harold," replied Allison confidently. "I can't stand staying in this silly bed any longer while you engines go out and push freight cars around. I have better things to think about—such as getting back on my feet and performing a real Irish fiddle-and-singing concert as a way of thanks to you for giving me such a warm welcome to Sodor."

Thomas could barely think straight.

"Oh, would you?" he inquired hopefully. "I'd be honored if you'd sing and play for us! Please do! I'm very certain Sir Topham Hatt would be more than willing to let you. We'll all vote yes on it."

"You have a deal," Allison promised in determination.

By now she was excited; she'd been hoping to give a live concert for her very best friends ever since she arrived on the island. She had already begun planning the program.

Sir Topham Hatt came inside Percy's cab, and both of them were just as overjoyed as Thomas was when they saw that Allison was doing better. Thomas spread the news he'd heard, and almost right away, he and Percy got into a mild riff about who was to transport Allison back to the station.

"The nurse said Harold was set to do it," Allison explained. "I hear he does live for emergencies. They keep his wings in check."

"Then Harold it will be," said Sir Topham Hatt. "That'll be all, Thomas and Percy. Stop your squabbling. Allison is not enough for two tank engines."

He relayed the message to Harold's air field.

"Another flight," Harold gloated, lifting off into the air. "I do enjoy transporting that young girl. She is very easy to get along with."

He paraded the air while the two tank engines tracked him from below. Thomas and Percy kept sneaking looks up above, just to make sure Allison was having a safe ride.

Sir Topham Hatt seemed overly eager for entertainment, and he actually said so.

"A concert would be a lovely idea," he informed when Thomas brought it up with him. "I shall make arrangements right away."

The engines were happy and relieved to have Allison back with them, and they couldn't stop asking her questions about her stay at the hospital. Allison could only smile and assure them that Thomas had taken good care of her, as she stood up on the platform Sir Topham Hatt had set out for her.

Just as she'd promised Thomas, it was an evening of singing, dancing and fiddling, the engines all giving her an encore with loud, encouraging wheeshes from their whistles. It was truly a Really Useful Concert.


	4. Sodor Superhero

**Sodor Superhero**

The Island of Sodor stretches for miles across vast blue ocean. There are forests and buildings and even airfields. But what it has the most supply of is railroad tracks. Every day of the week, the owner of the railway, Sir Topham Hatt, takes careful check to make sure his many engines are travelling smoothly up and down them, arriving at their assigned stations right on time.

Gordon and Henry are two of the biggest engines, Really Useful in pulling passengers and freight. James is the only large engine with a shiny red coat, and you can often hear him gloating about it to anyone who will listen. Often, the smaller engines just ignore him.

Days are never the same on the Island of Sodor, for something more often than once comes up unexpectedly.

Saturday was a particular day for Harold, the loud, droning whirlybird helicopter that swarmed in during an emergency rescue. A message was relayed out to the airfield where Harold rested at night: one of the signals on the railroad tracks was jammed, and it linked to the main line that Gordon usually ran along. The mechanism that switched the angle of the tracks was stuck, and Gordon was currently moving along the line with his passengers. Sir Topham Hatt needed Harold to assist with the signalmen.

"I love a good emergency," Harold drawled as his propeller flew to life. "It's good exercise for my stiff wings."

His engine whirred and he was lifted into the air.

He had been flying halfway to the trouble site when his back propeller began making strange sounds. His rear motor was losing energy, and he began to lose height.

"Something's wrong!" cried his driver, struggling to keep him in the air.

Harold's engine struggled for life.

"I knew we should have replaced the motor," the driver moaned.

"Is there anything you can do?" Harold asked.

"Nothing," the driver stated. "I'm doing everything I can. I'm sorry, Harold, but you are losing height faster than Gordon can pull passengers along the main line."

Black smoke began to pour out Harold's back end. The driver leaned out the side window to call for help. Harold whirred and groaned, using everything his propellers had left in them to keep himself in the air. He was falling, down…down…

He stopped. He was hovering, held straight up, over the ground. Something red and blue swooped under him in a blur and pushed him up. A redhead wearing a red and blue costume and a mask over her eyes peered out from beneath Harold's runners, using her own ability to float above ground to aid him in the height he had lost.

"What's happening?" called out Harold's driver in wonder. "It's a miracle!"

"A girl wearing a cape is holding me up," replied Harold in amazement. "I've never seen anything like it. She's pushing me from below while she flies miles above the ground."

He knew there was a word for these types of creatures. They were called superheroes.

The masked redhead safely lowered him down by the desperate signalmen at the stuck signal.

"Harold is glad to be of service, and so am I," the superhero said in response to their shocked looks. "He had his own emergency on his way over here, and it's a great thing I sensed it. Oh, well, toodle-oo."

She gave them a happy wave and flew off.

"Bother," realized Harold after it was too late. "I didn't even think of asking her who she was. She really did wonders for my damaged engine."

The news didn't take long to reach Sir Topham Hatt, and soon, the engines. Harold's driver could not stop talking about the strange masked girl who could fly simply on her own power.

"A superhero," mused Sir Topham Hatt in amazement. "Well, I'll be! Sodor never gets anything like that."

"Harold would have crashed had it not been for her," said the driver truthfully.

The superhero zoomed across Henry's forest in her colorful blur, straightening any crooked tree branches, and whooshed out to the freight car field, fixing broken chutes and shunting the cars back into their proper places in line. The naughty freight cars were so taken by her incredible powers that they had quite forgotten to be naughty and instead moved on her will.

Percy arrived to shunt just as she was finishing her rounds. He wanted to see if Sir Topham Hatt's superhero story was true and perhaps introduce himself. He wanted her to save him, too.

"Hey, wait!" he called desperately as she grew startled and flew off. His wheeshing had brought him unannounced. "I—I'm sorry; I didn't mean to frighten you!"

He began to follow the path in which he had last seen her, but she had been too quick.

Poor Percy was out of breath by the time he found her. She was wallowing on a tree branch in Henry's forest, letting her legs hang down loose as she surveyed the view. She could see much of the island from up here.

"Excuse me, Miss Superhero," Percy called up once he had enough steam to talk again. "Please don't fly away again. I just wanted to get to know you and see if Sir Topham Hatt was telling the truth. I'm Percy. To whom do I owe this pleasure?"

"Hello again, Percy!" chirped the superhero cheerily, jumping down from the tree in such a blur that the resulting wind ruffled the steam coming out of his funnel. "I'm Sodorsquirt, the very first superhero on the Island of Sodor!"

She swept her cape around mightily. "I'm here to fight for good, defeat all evil, and save little tank engines in the peak of trouble!"

Percy was impressed. He was also overwhelmed with her use of long sentences. He couldn't keep up, but he laughed with joy.

"So what distant planet do you hail from, Sodorsquirt?" he asked curiously.

"I hail from the planet Ibar, in the faraway galaxy of Estrane," answered Sodorsquirt proudly. "I came here in hopes of fixing things up on this island. I understand your boss Sir Topham Hatt likes a good first impression, and I know little tank engines can't do everything alone. Now I must go and find Thomas. I'm sure he needs some Sodorsquirt spirit in whatever Sir Topham Hatt asked him to do."

"I'll go with you," Percy said confidently.

There was something distinctly familiar about Sodorsquirt, and Percy could feel it in his boiler. Her hair, her form, her manners—it was all there.

It can't be her, he thought to himself. She's Sodorsquirt, the very first superhero on the Island of Sodor. I must never question a superhero's values.

"But she can trust me," he said out loud. "I can keep a secret. I know it's Allison. I won't tell a soul, not even Thomas. She can trust me."

But Thomas seemed to have it figured out as well when Sodorsquirt flew over his head while he was taking passengers in Annie and Clarabel.

"Hello," he called to her as she swooped past his carriages. "I'm Thomas."

"I know who you are," replied Sodorsquirt honestly. "I'm Sodorsquirt, the very first superhero on the Island of Sodor."

She repeated the same spiel she had used on Percy.

Thomas normally would have been fooled under ordinary circumstances, but here, he actually got a little cheeky. He knew the voice well; it was one he never missed hearing.

"It's nice to meet you—Sodorsquirt," he said in his cheeky way, "but you don't have to disguise yourself as a superhero to feel Really Useful. Allison was way more Really Useful with her singing, dancing and Irish fiddling. I'd much rather prefer her over a red and blue whirlybird like you. This island can barely handle one Harold."

Sodorsquirt understood every word he was saying, and her eyes glittered through her mask.

"I suppose you are right, Thomas," she said pointedly. "You obviously feel very close to your human friend. I only thought that on this island, anything was possible. Forgive me for—er—swooping back and forth as a red and blue blur. I can barely keep up with myself."

Thomas looked understanding.

"I'm sorry I was cheeky," he said truthfully, "and I'll do you a favor from your flying. How about I give you a special ride in my cab back to the station? It's on me. Allison would want it that way."

"I'd love to," answered Sodorsquirt with gusto. "You always seem to know what an island superhero wants, Thomas. That is one thing I will always remember about you."

And Thomas the Tank Engine, his best friend Sodorsquirt in his cab, puffed out a breath of steam happily from his funnel, knowing he had saved the Island of Sodor's first superhero a long and tiresome flight.


	5. Sir Handel Slips

**Sir Handel Slips**

Engines of all sizes dominate Sir Topham Hatt's railyard on the Island of Sodor. The biggest ones, Henry, James and Gordon, are used for the big important work, such as pulling passengers in and out of the station and delivering truckloads of freight wherever needed. The medium-sized ones, Thomas, Percy and Edward, always have to fight with the bigger ones to feel Really Useful. They believe they can be just as important with their shunting and hauling. Of course, every railyard also has to have its smallest crew on the lot, and for Sir Topham Hatt, small meant ones like Peter Sam, Rheneas, Skarloey, and Sir Handel.

Sir Handel was always trouble for the freight cars. They couldn't stand the way he pushed them and chided them for not moving fast enough and not doing things the way he wanted them done. As a result, they had begun to cause trouble for him.

Sir Topham Hatt put him on shunting duty in the coal yard. He was safe on a side line so Henry could move in and out on the branch line with his freight train. As usual, he began to shunt and chide in true Sir Handel fashion.

"Come on, come on," he ordered them in an irritated voice. "Sir Topham Hatt put me on duty today, so that means I'm in charge. Straight lines, now!" he barked in the most important-sounding voice he could manage for his small size.

The freight cars groaned and screamed in pain as he began pushing into them with such violent force that they coupled up to each other upon drawing backwards.

"Straight—straight—I want to see straight lines!" Sir Handel continued in the most bossy way. "No going over on to the other track! That's for Henry's line!"

He managed another push to keep them in place. The cars groaned and shrieked. They started to move back, closer to the back end of the track. Sir Handel was facing them from the front.

"No going over the line. Straight lines, straight lines," he ordered.

The freight cars, crafty as they were, began developing a plan to get back at him. It was devious, and they knew it had to work.

"We won't be ordered around," they all said to one another in low whispers. "We shouldn't be ordered around! No one is going to be pushing us into lines! Straight lines indeed! We'll show him what a straight line is! Foolish little engine! Thinks he's so big and important enough to shunt us! We don't want Sir Handel here! We'll show him!"

Their chatty whispers were unpleasantly interrupted as Sir Handel gathered enough force to bump into them again.

"Ouch!" they moaned in utter surprise.

They had no choice but to slide back as a group; their being unexpectedly coupled together after the first turn had prevented them from moving individually.

"You're going off the track," Sir Handel observed importantly. "Stay straight! No freight cars are allowed on the branch line! Single file now. Let's go."

It was time for the freight cars to put their plan into effect. They snickered amongst themselves at their own intelligence.

"Next time he bumps into us, we will give him the ride of his life," they vowed. "We shall bump him, and with all of us together, it will make an unfair match most definitely. We'll show him. He won't be ordering us around. Instead, let us order him."

They began to prepare the moment they spotted Sir Handel coming back with more cars. He was being equally bossy with this group as he had with the others.

"Branch line belongs to Henry," he was pointing out. "Freight cars get their own tracks."

He wouldn't be gloating with his foolish 'straight line' spiel for much longer. The already-coupled freight cars slid forward, gathering speed. They headed right for Sir Handel. The other cars in front of him were quite unprepared for any impact, but none looked more surprised than the small dark-blue engine shunting them.

The car in the front rammed into his coupler so hard that it attached itself, and this gave the rest all the time they were hoping for. Sir Handel didn't even have time to voice his surprise, let alone call out for help. He was sliding backwards, fast, down the track, the stream of freight cars easily winning.

"Help! Help!" called out Sir Handel desperately.

"Faster! Faster!" whooped the cars, laughing in immense glee. "We must shunt him! We must shunt him! No way will he order us around! We must shunt him! Go, go, go!"

They were enjoying themselves greatly.

The sound of Sir Handel's frightened cries and the giggling and snickering of the troublesome freight cars reached help high up overhead, even from miles away. Sitting up in her usual tree branch in Henry's forest, a red and blue rescue whirlybird in the form of Sodorsquirt waited for the perfect moment.

Sodorsquirt was the island's first and only-known superhero, and she had done nothing but good deeds for Sir Topham Hatt and his engines.

"Help! Help!" called Sir Handel again, and "faster! Faster!" went the laughing freight cars.

"Trouble," guessed Sodorsquirt right away, flying out of her tree branch, her mask and cape glittering in the morning sun. She flew down and landed a good number of yards away on Sir Handel's track, spreading her legs for balance and holding out her arms in preparation to stop the train.

Sir Handel was moving fast, backwards, right for her, and the freight cars, their vision obscured by Sir Handel's funnel, didn't notice the colorful obstacle barricading their path. They continued to gloat and jeer at their enemy in front of them.

Thomas, however, saw it as he headed back towards the station, sans Annie and Clarabel. He screeched to a stop so fast his wheels creaked, and steam burst violently from his boiler.

"Cinders and ashes!" he gasped in shock. "What does Sodorsquirt think she's doing? She's going to hurt herself!"

He set off two very long wheeshes from his whistle in an attempt to warn her, but she chose not to hear. Sir Handel and the freight cars were practically on her.

"Sodorsquirt—watch out!" cried Thomas, and shut his eyes in horror.

Without thinking, he was barreling down the track as fast as his wheels would allow, hoping to get to Sodorsquirt in time to push her out of the way.

He was about a second too late. Sir Handel and his very heavy train rammed into Sodorsquirt so hard that Thomas was sure it had killed her. The force was enough to knock her feet off the tracks and send her flying backwards.

Thomas felt tears streaming down his face. His best friend, the one he had grown to love and adore every moment spent with her, was gone in a flash of color. She didn't have the strength or the power to stop a fast-moving train, not even a small one like Sir Handel.

It took Thomas a long time to realize he was crying. He couldn't focus. He'd forgotten all about what he was supposed to be doing. He couldn't quite believe Sodorsquirt was gone, not fully. She was his best friend. His best friend, who had disguised herself as a superhero in order to save her friends from danger. She'd done it for him, as well as for all the others.

Sir Handel gradually slowed to a stop. Steam streamed from his underside. He wheeshed. It took a long time for him to regain his composure. He'd been flying down that track, and now he had stopped, abnormally easily. Even the taunting freight cars were silent, something unexpected.

He uncoupled himself from the car in front as if stuck in a dream, backing away quickly. Something was flying away from him, slowly and smoothly, and he spotted the red cape fluttering in the wind. Sodorsquirt! He was sure of it. She had saved him, another good deed done by the island's only superhero.

"Thanks, Sodorsquirt!" he shouted after her, as loud as he could manage.

She stopped, letting herself hover for a moment, and he saw her wave.

"Glad to be of service," he heard her say, and that's when he saw Thomas sitting sad and silent on the track. Sodorsquirt was flying right towards him. Sir Handel was sure his face was glistening with tears.

He knew right then and there that because of him, Thomas had almost lost a friend, and he swore to himself that he would never put her in danger again, although it's not easy keeping a promise when devious freight cars are around. Next time would not include Sodorsquirt, although he understood that it would take months before Thomas ever forgave him.


	6. Terror in the Roundhouse

**Terror in the Roundhouse**

All the engines in Sir Topham Hatt's railyard were tucked in the shed for the night. This was the perfect time for them to think about the day's work and how each one had had the opportunity to feel Really Useful. James was dreaming peaceful dreams about the next coat of shiny red paint that he would receive in the near future. Gordon was dreaming about his next important assignment that he had to do on time. Henry was thinking about the time he wouldn't come out of the tunnel. Everyone would have been peaceful, except Thomas looked uncomfortable.

His eyes were closed, but his brain was whirring faster than Harold's propellers. He saw Sodorsquirt, the red and blue whirlybird, cross his mind once, then twice, then three times. She flew down on to Sir Handel's shunting line to stop him and his freight cars from going over the hill. He saw Sir Handel crash into her at top speed. He saw her feet fly off the track at the hard impact. She was moving backwards, fast, pressed against Sir Handel's back, her hands held out tightly against him. He saw her feet slide fiercely along the tracks, the red boots she wore kicking up sparks under the soles. She was still on the track.

Thomas was terrified. His eyes flew open quickly.

"Sodorsquirt—watch out!" he called in warning, and, forgetting where he was, absentmindedly zipped out of his corner of the shed on to the outside track, his breath of steam like a ghost in the moonlight.

He raced past the dark bridge that was once the trail of the legendary Ghost Train, past the scary oil sheds where the Ghost Train lost his whistle, even past Henry's forest where Sodorsquirt often loved to sit and observe the action from her tree branch.

"I'm coming, Sodorsquirt!" he called, his voice echoing eerily in the darkness.

His strange disappearance in the middle of the night soon became known to Percy, who slept next to him in the roundhouse. Percy began to feel dread the moment he realized that Thomas was no longer next to him.

Careful not to awaken the others, he slowly jolted to life, his wheels creaking along the tracks.

"Thomas?" he called faintly. "Where are you?"

He was answered by the hoot of an owl.

"Thomas?"

He was scared now, and he could almost hear Thomas's taunting words as he called him a "scaredy engine."

"I am _not _a scaredy engine!" he muttered to himself angrily, but he could not keep the shaking out of his voice.

_"Scaredy engine! Scaredy engine! Percy is a scaredy engine!"_

Gordon and James joined in the rant in Percy's mind. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn't.

"Thomas?" he stuttered nervously. "Wh—where are you?"

The owl answered again. "Who? Who's there?"

"YEEEEEEEEEEE!" Percy wheeshed loudly in his fright and bolted, gathering so much speed that his wheels groaned and clattered with such a sound that it would have awakened a hundred owls, although Percy's concern was disturbing the legendary Ghost Train from his long slumber.

_Wheeeeeeessshhhhh! Wheeeeeeeeeessshhhh!_

"YEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Thomas puffed to a stop at Sir Handel's shunting line. This was where Sodorsquirt's heroic deed had occurred. No one was there now. The line stood empty for miles in both directions.

Thomas shivered. His funnel began to feel cold.

"I'm—here—Sodorsquirt." He could barely get the words out. He shook with both fear and cold.

Icy frost began to creep up his dome, and his face was turning blue. He puffed out a few breaths of steam to keep himself warm. Then he heard a noise.

"YEEEEEEEEEE!"

Percy was barreling down the main line, looking for him and scared right out of his couplers in the process.

"Percy?" shivered Thomas in shock.

"YEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Percy shut his eyes tightly and wheeshed all the way to a halt.

"Percy!" Thomas was surprised yet relieved to see him. The warm steam bursting from Percy's funnel kept his mind off the cold.

Percy opened one eye slowly, and he began to calm down.

"Percy, what are you doing all the way out here?" Thomas asked. He felt much warmer now.

"I thought I'd ask you the same question," tweeted Percy. "You woke me up after you left. Are you okay?"

He actually looked worried.

Thomas thought about Sodorsquirt and shivered again.

"Bad dream," he puffed honestly.

"Oh." Percy looked curious. "Do you want to talk about it? Sometimes that helps."

Thomas didn't know how to bring the incident with Sodorsquirt across appropriately with Percy. His friend hadn't been there when Sir Handel rammed the superhero down.

"Percy," he started slowly, struggling to hold back the tears that began to well up in his eyes. His voice cracked, despite his every attempt to sound professional.

Percy waited, abnormally patient.

"It's about Sodorsquirt. I—"

Thomas had begun to say more, but he was cut off by a loud whistling noise. It was different from the ones he was used to hearing, for this one did not belong to an engine. This one was humanoid and more high-pitched.

Thomas and Percy became aware of an odd fluttering, and it seemed to be getting closer. Something was moving towards them across the night sky, and the shadow blocked the moon. That's when Thomas noticed the source of the fluttering. It was a cape! And carrying the cape was a small and graceful form, red hair blowing gently in the wind, one Thomas was always overly eager to see, and she was coming right towards them, turning and dipping and diving—

"SODORSQUIRT!" Thomas yelled, much too loudly.

"YEEEEEEEEE!" Percy wheeshed in fright and screeched backwards down the track, very nearly tipping over. "Bust my buffers, Thomas! Don't scare me like that!" he scolded fiercely. "You just about gave me a flood in my boiler!"

Thomas was so happy to see Sodorsquirt alive that he had quite forgotten that Percy was there, but more importantly, he had forgotten about his night terror in the roundhouse, which had been the main reason for his being here. He let out two joyful "peep-peeps" from his whistle to let his friend know his relief.

"Hello, Thomas," laughed Sodorsquirt as she landed before them. "I sensed that two little tank engines were out after midnight seeking me out, so I thought I'd spare them the trouble before they went too far. Hello to you, too, Percy."

Her eyes were pleasant through her mask, and her smile was gentle.

"Oh, Sodorsquirt, I'm so relieved you're not hurt!" cried Thomas, all out of steam as he rushed to get everything out. "I was worried about you in ways you can't even imagine, for when I saw Sir Handel knock into you on the tracks as you tried to stop him, I—I—I—"

He gasped for breath. He was still registering the fact that Sodorsquirt was there in front of him, standing almost like a ghost with her hands on her waist, her cape flapping behind her.

Sodorsquirt laughed again. "It's quite all right, Thomas; I'm here now," she said. "I'll spare you an extra boiler load of steam. You're going to need the rest of it to get back to the roundhouse. You as well, Percy. Both of you look like you could use a good fire in your boilers. Thomas's face is as blue as his paint."

"I went out looking for you after a bad dream about your accident came up," Thomas admitted. "I had a hunch you were alive, but it was a small one. I was scared."

Percy had fallen silent after he'd calmed down. He hadn't known anything about Sodorsquirt being in an accident, and he actually looked a bit green.

"A—A—Are you hurt?" he stuttered fearfully, but Sodorsquirt only laughed again and coupled them together so she could push them home.


End file.
